Almost off orientation

Hi,
I am a new grad and have my BSN. I have 2 weeks left of orientation for night shift. I have been on orientation for 5 weeks so far. I have a few questions actually. I find myself with such severe anxiety. I feel like im not getting things fast enough. I should be able to do everything myself at this point. My preceptor reassures me I am where i should be. I also find myself asking alot of questions..unfortunately sometimes more than once. I just want to make sure i am doing things correctly. I am so fearful of being on my own. I am told there is not much support on night shift from other nurses. I heard codes and medication errors happen and it makes me very upset. I am so nervouse to be pulled to different floors etc. The paperwork frustrates me the most. I know i should do my best to think positively..but I am having a hard time doing that. I will work night shift soon alone and I was wondering if you have ever worked the night shift how is it? Is it normal to be so worried/upset at this point? How do you best deal with anxiety? When did you notice you felt better about things?

I feel the same way. I just finished up my orientation yesterday. Start Monday on my own. This week they basically let me go on my own and jumped in every now and then. The thing is, when they jumped in.. it threw off my routine/plan I was in the middle of so ended up making things take longer. I did get overwhelmed... forgot stuff.. didn't know stuff, but this field is sooo huge, we'll be like that for some time! Just do your best and prioritize! If you get overwhelmed.. take a deep breath and keep truckin! Good luck!

Jun 12, '09

same here. Hard a horrible night (last night). 2 pts sats dropped at the same time; IV infiltration with vancomycin running. Talk abt running around like chicken (atleast i got some help). Can't wait to get out of med-surg.

same here. hard a horrible night (last night). 2 pts sats dropped at the same time; iv infiltration with vancomycin running. talk abt running around like chicken (atleast i got some help). can't wait to get out of med-surg.

sounds like my night except i had a pt knock out his ng tube during the day shift and blamed me because i worked with in the night before (he said it was always out but did not tell his day nurse even though she got fluid out... maybe it was a miracle??? or maybe he got the hint to blame me from the charge nurse he knows personally who does not like me???), i had two admits at the beginning of the shift, i had new orders, new meds, high sugars on multiple patients, a demanding high fall risk patient, a thorocentesis, a confused elderly patient incontinent of bowel and urine, labs and doctor orders to follow up on, blood that was still running at change of shift... vanco needed.... all this before midnight.... so of course i had to hurry to do the rest of the night shift duties and run to get meds out on time,.... and despite all the help i had (i had very little because most were busy gossiping about why i am unable to be superwoman while others were stretched thin too) i also had an a-type bossy day shift nurse insist i tell her stuff about a patient i did not receive much information on from days and i could not and did not spend much time reading doc notes on during my night!

again... all the night shift nurses went home and i was still there an hour after my shift was over! i told her i was leaving! i was not going to call any more doctors or do any more things! she had a fit and i fully expect to be written up for it... but i do not care. not because i don’t care about my job... i do... not because i do not care about nursing... i do... but because it is 24 hour care and none of the other nurses stay over! plus, i see an end to this nightmare... i will not be working on this floor for much longer and i will not be working in this hospital past my 2 years working medical surgical nursing...

hi,
i know i should do my best to think positively..but i am having a hard time doing that. i will work night shift soon alone and i was wondering if you have ever worked the night shift how is it? is it normal to be so worried/upset at this point? how do you best deal with anxiety? when did you notice you felt better about things?

i promise myself that on my days off i am only focusing on home. this is a hard change for me because my personality is such that i work really hard to do my best and i look at my mistakes and try to improve upon them... however, in medical surgical nursing you can work your butt off and be the smartest most organized new grad alive and still your work is not good enough to most! thus, if we do not focus on other things and remain strong these trashy floors, trashy hospitals, and trashy co-workers will knock us down similar to others. i know one new grad shy of 1 year in nursing who has quit nursing.

Last edit by SummerGarden on Jun 12, '09

Jun 15, '09

There will be nurses on your floor that should be willing to help.
Ask questions if you're unsure about anything!
Nightshift is great and better for learning, IMO.
I felt better being on my own, much better.
I didn't like someone watching my every move.
I did ask questions and still do if I'm ever unsure.
Also know what med you're giving, don't ever give
a med if you don't know what it is.
Take blood pressure before giving a blood pressure
med.

And most importantly of all........Have confidence and
never let the patient know if you are lacking in this
area.

sounds like my night except i had a pt knock out his ng tube during the day shift and blamed me because i worked with in the night before (he said it was always out but did not tell his day nurse even though she got fluid out... maybe it was a miracle??? or maybe he got the hint to blame me from the charge nurse he knows personally who does not like me???), i had two admits at the beginning of the shift, i had new orders, new meds, high sugars on multiple patients, a demanding high fall risk patient, a thorocentesis, a confused elderly patient incontinent of bowel and urine, labs and doctor orders to follow up on, blood that was still running at change of shift... vanco needed.... all this before midnight.... so of course i had to hurry to do the rest of the night shift duties and run to get meds out on time,.... and despite all the help i had (i had very little because most were busy gossiping about why i am unable to be superwoman while others were stretched thin too) i also had an a-type bossy day shift nurse insist i tell her stuff about a patient i did not receive much information on from days and i could not and did not spend much time reading doc notes on during my night!

again... all the night shift nurses went home and i was still there an hour after my shift was over! i told her i was leaving! i was not going to call any more doctors or do any more things! she had a fit and i fully expect to be written up for it... but i do not care. not because i don't care about my job... i do... not because i do not care about nursing... i do... but because it is 24 hour care and none of the other nurses stay over! plus, i see an end to this nightmare... i will not be working on this floor for much longer and i will not be working in this hospital past my 2 years working medical surgical nursing...

i promise myself that on my days off i am only focusing on home. this is a hard change for me because my personality is such that i work really hard to do my best and i look at my mistakes and try to improve upon them... however, in medical surgical nursing you can work your butt off and be the smartest most organized new grad alive and still your work is not good enough to most! thus, if we do not focus on other things and remain strong these trashy floors, trashy hospitals, and trashy co-workers will knock us down similar to others. i know one new grad shy of 1 year in nursing who has quit nursing.

i feel the same way!!! last week was my 4th week on orientation on a surgical intermediate floor...i have 4 patients in my pod, 1 of whom requires my constant attention as in a vent, blood transfusions, labs, restraints, bradying down to 24!!! and it seems like everytime my preceptor would come check on me she would dsitract me and throw me off......"did you do this? did you do that? how is your charting? how are your meds? what is that patients finger stick?"

okkkk i am a new freakin nurse and i cannot do everything as fast as you can so please stop asking me every 5 minutes if i have done everything that needs to be done in the entire shift. i have never replied her in a "are you crazy???" tone but i want to say no ma'am i havent finished everything because one patient is being discharged, one morphine pca is screaming at me because its empty and nobody is around to waste, and one pt is disoriented so it takes 10 freakin minutes to give him one pill on top of everything else going on.

i am actually more relaxed when she is not around because i feel a comfortable amount of stress and pressure but with her i feel like i am gonna rip my hair out. don't get me wrong she is a great preceptor and a nice person but she is just stressing me out! i start fumbling, looking dishoveled and then when i do need her for a question she is on the phone!!!!!!! ughhh neways i'm just always terrified of making a mistake and when i get home i relive the whole day trying to make sure i did not make a mistake or i did not leave anything undone. does it get better? i feel like i will have a heart attack at the ripe old age of 24 if things dont settle down and i am not always running around like a mad woman!!!! i also just moved to a different state by myself so i think it makes it harder to not be able to vent to someone when i come home. it is nice to know that i am not the only one feeling stressed. thanks for the post and comments guys.